Free Captivate, book I of the Love & Lust by Amy Miles Page A

away.
    She starts to walk past him, but he grabs her arm to stop her. “First impression?”
    Ashlyn takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. She is going to kill Sophie and Tamsin when she gets back to the hotel!
    “I think your apparent arrogance is a cover-up for insecurity. Your swagger seems to be used to try to impress people because deep down you are actually rather self-conscious. I think you need people to like you.” She stares down at his hand still wrapped around her forearm. “Case in point.”
    He instantly releases her with a smirk. “You sure seem to think you know a lot about me with hardly ever being around me.”
    “I watch people,” she says simply and waits for him to move out of her way. She tucks her hands into her coat pockets so he doesn’t notice how they tremble. The way he looks at her does strange things to her stomach. Her chest feels tight as his gaze roams across her face. “Can we just get this shopping trip over with? I’ve got a date with a very large bottle of wine tonight.”

Eight

    With the photo shoot behind them and the first batch of proof books in hand, Ashlyn turns her attention to next weekend’s book signing in the heart of London. Tamsin Archer has been invited to an event being held at the London Book Fair in Earls Court.
    Concerns with security alone have managed to give Ashlyn quite the headache over the past days. When she adds the swooning fan girls who will chase after Slade, the whirlwind that follows Tamsin everywhere she goes, as well as the nearly 25,000 people who annually attend the fair, Ashlyn has to resist the urge just to curl up in a corner and cry.
    Perhaps a prescription for Xanax is in order.
    She’s never been very good with people, not in large quantities at least. Her ability to get tongue-tied at the drop of a hat makes it nearly impossible for her to communicate with Tamsin’s fans or coordinate anything more intricate than a lunch order. She’s even been known to screw that up from time to time.
    Slade isn’t helping things either. His flamboyant personality only attracts an ever-growing squealing mob of teen girls and middle-aged moms still trying to cling to their prime. Any hint of bare skin or rippling muscle on Slade’s part and the crowds press in tight enough to leave Ashlyn searching for her inhaler.
    “Don’t tell me you’re still sweating this signing.” Tamsin rolls her eyes as she flicks her cigarette toward the ashtray on the table beside her. Gray embers flutter to the floor, making Ashlyn grit her teeth.
    She slips from the couch and scoops the ash into her hand and places it in the tray. Why is it that Tamsin always feels the need to crash her room? Is it so much to ask for her to use the room registered to her own name? “This is a hotel, you know, not your home.”
    “Whatever.” Tamsin waves her off. She knocks back the contents of a small shot glass and winces, pressing the back of her hand to her lips as the fiery liquid goes down.
    “That’s good stuff,” she grunts, lifting the bottle to read the label.
    “It’s hardly noon,” Ashlyn scolds, holding out her hand for the bottle. “Don’t you think you should wait a bit? You have a fitting this afternoon?”
    “I do?” Her gaze seems unfocused as she stares at Ashlyn through a mess of pomegranate-red curls. Tamsin’s roots have begun to show just enough to remind Ashlyn that she needs to be booked in for another hair appointment. A couple of her nails have torn off as well, no doubt sometime over the weekend when she was out enjoying London’s nightlife with Slade.
    “Yes, you do.” Ashlyn scribbles an address onto a small notepad and tears off the sheet. “You need to be at this address by four. Please, don’t be late this time.”
    “I won’t.” Tamsin scowls, snatching the address out of her hand. “Anything else on my schedule?”
    Running her finger down the agenda, Ashlyn makes note of a dinner date with Slade this evening at